YODER – The Southeast Lady Cyclones scored in the single-digits in two quarters in a loss to Mitchell, Neb. on Tuesday at home, 65-33.
Mitchell jumped out to an early lead, holding a 17-10 advantage over the Lady Cyclones after the first frame. In the second quarter, Southeast scored six points and faced a 28-16 deficit at the break.
“I thought we played a really good first half,” coach Jennifer Scheer said. “We started a little uneasy, but we settled down and played them equally for most of the first half.”
By the end of the third quarter, a quarter which the Lady Tigers dropped 20, Southeast was down 48-27. The Lady Cyclones again put in six points, while allowing 17 in the fourth to be handed the loss.
“After halftime, they made some adjustments and we had some mental errors and we had a couple times where we had some mistakes,” Scheer said. “(Mitchell is) well coached. Every kid on that team contributes and knows their role.”
Ellie Schmitt was the leading scorer for the Lady Cyclones, with 14 points. She also recorded the most rebounds, racking up eight on the night. Four of her boards came on the offensive glass.
Kaci Schmick accounted for seven points of her own against Mitchell. Emily Buchanan was the second leading rebounder, with four.
“We have to learn how to play our style of basketball for 32 minutes to win a game like that,” Scheer said.
The loss drops the Lady Cyclones to 12-4, with a 2-1 record in the division. They played Lingle-Fort Laramie on Tuesday after the press deadline. Southeast returns to the hardwood on Friday when they travel to take on 2A’s top-ranked Pine Bluffs at 4:30 p.m.
“All we can worry about is focusing on ourselves,” Scheer said of the three games in one week. “If we can hold our composure like we did in the first half on Tuesday, we will be just fine.”
